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Saturday, April 9, 2016

March Wrap Up & April TBR!

March was a pretty slow reading month for me. I really only read 3 books, 2 of them, however, were novella collections so it was ALMOST like reading a bunch of books!

I started the month with a book that I was sent to read and review here on the blog...

The Revenger by Debra Anastasia.

The real hero of this story is dead. You should have met him. He was a beautiful man. The love of my life. I didn’t deserve him. Now what’s left are the jagged edges of the person I am without him, and what I have to do to get by. This isn’t even a story about love. Not really. It’s a twisted tale of revenge and hate—a happily never after.

Next, I moved on to Cassandra Clare books to prepare for her new book Lady Midnight. I had already read both the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices series... but I hadn't read the novellas yet. The first set of novellas, which I own the hardcover bind up of, was The Bane Chronicles. These novellas take place before, after, and in between the ID and MI series books.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

I gave each story either a 4 or 5 star, so I averaged the whole thing out to a 4-star book.

This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Originally released one-by-one as e-only short stories by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan, this compilation presents all ten together in print for the first time and includes a never-before-seen eleventh tale, as well as new illustrated material.

I finished the month reading through her second novella collection, which ISN'T available as a bind-up at this time. Instead, you can get them in ebook from ebook retailers.

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

I averaged this one out to a five star!

The New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling collection of short stories chronicling the adventures of Simon Lewis as he trains to become a Shadowhunter is now available in print for the first time with ten brand-new comic illustrations!

APRIL TBR I hit the library a couple months ago and brought home a major haul!

So I'll be chipping away at those books this month. I started the month out with Cassandra Clare's newest release: Lady Midnight. I finished this book several days ago.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

After that, I hope to read Hilary Duff's (YES, the singer and actress!) Ya Fantasy trilogy.

Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.